After Running a Dog Fighting Ring, Vick Set to Receive 'Courage' Award

Angela Vuckovic
by Angela Vuckovic


Friva/Shutterstock

Animal lovers all across the nation are outraged at the news that the former Philadephia Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick, is up to receive the ‘Courage’ award after being convicted for animal cruelty crimes in his leading role in running a dog fighting ring.


In 2007, the (at the time) Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was convicted for running a dog fighting ring. The police found over 70 dogs on his estate, many of them with visible signs of injuries and abuse, and only 48 survived the ordeal and went on to live in sanctuaries or foster homes. Dogs that have been deemed too aggressive towards other canines were sent to a sanctuary, and those that could have been rehabilitated were in foster families, some of them even got adopted eventually. In December of 2021, Frodo, the last of the dogs from Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring passed over the rainbow bridge at the age of 15. Needless to say, the story shook the nation and outraged animal lovers across the world – a professional athlete secretly running an operation of cruelty and abuse, admitting to even killing dogs – but he only received a 23-month sentence for his crimes.



It’s been a while since the scandal, and Michael Vick even got his quarterback job and sports carrier back after being released from prison, but animal lovers are getting another slap in the face – not only that Vick got a light sentence and the chance to get his life back, he is now being honored for his “commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.” There’s no further explanation about what actual principles of sportsmanship and acts of courage a person who pitted dogs against each other to fight to the death and later killed those that didn’t live up to expectations could have shown, though.


The Ed Block Courage Award, which was named for a former Baltimore Colts trainer who was an advocate for abused children, is traditionally given to a player on all 32 NFL teams, which is selected by his teammates.

Angela Vuckovic
Angela Vuckovic

A proud mama to seven dogs and ten cats, Angela spends her days writing for her fellow pet parents and pampering her furballs, all of whom are rescues. When she's not gushing over her adorable cats or playing with her dogs, she can be found curled up with a good fantasy book.

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